Seven Reverse Culture Shocks I Experienced Going From Colombia to the United States

I spent almost all of July and August in the US this summer. Before that, I have been living abroad in Colombia. To say that they are vastly different would be an understatement.

US flag in Rio Negro, Colombia

I remember my first few days back in the US, and I was in awe about how much I had forgotten. The last time I was in the US was the summer prior, and the states were still in lockdown, so I did not leave my family’s houses.

I would say this was the first time in 2 years I was in public, and it was semi-normal-ish, or I reckon the new normal, you could say.

I am going to share a few things that I forgot about that gave me reverse culture shock.

Everything is massive, huge, gigantic.

Especially the freeways; for example, in LA, we have four-lane highways in one direction and four lanes in the other; that is an eight-lane highway!